Murder for Glacier Blue (High Seas Mystery Series Book 3)

by Diane Rapp

  *****

  Robert Long climbed onto the dais and flipped a switch attached to the lectern. He tapped on the microphone and heard an echo through the theater. Gazing out at the crowd, he noted the usual high bidders, smiled, and started his pitch, “Welcome to the final auction for Genuine Fakes. Due to your generosity, we raised a substantial sum for the new art museum in Juneau and hope to cap it off with today’s sale.”

  Polite applause greeted him, and he plastered a false grin on his face. “Sure! You just want to see the action, don’t you? Well, let’s get the show rolling.

  “Today we’re proud to present two identical versions of McKinley From Peters Hills, painted in 1928 by Sydney Laurence. This artist is widely renowned for his Alaskan landscapes. He studied art in New York and Europe and even pursued a career as a foreign correspondent in Africa. Laurence arrived in Alaska around 1904, hoping to strike it rich in the gold rush. Unfortunately he was an unsuccessful miner. To survive, Laurence opened a photography studio in the fledgling town of Anchorage, while he dabbled in painting. His outstanding illustrations of Alaskan scenery struck a chord with the art world, and he became a successful artist. You can see an extraordinary example of his work in the art museum in Anchorage.

  “As you’ve had an opportunity to examine the expertise of our Genuine Fakes’ staff, let’s start the bidding at $20,000.” The bidding bounced around the room at a brisk pace, but Robert noticed one bidder sitting silent. Carson Allbright, who successfully purchased four of the five previous paintings, sat staring at him with a steely expression. A coil of fear twisted in Robert’s gut, making his voice falter during the steady flow of bidding.

  “Sorry, folks.” He grabbed a glass of water from under the lectern and sipped until he regained composure. He grinned at the crowd. “My tongue blocked my eye teeth, and I couldn’t see what I was saying.” Titters rippled through the theater. “Now, we all know how well previous paintings sold, so don’t let the art museum down on our last day. Do I hear a bid for $60,000?” The bids dribbled in until they stalled at $70,000. Robert was forced to pound his hammer and shout, “Sold for $70,000!” He pointed toward Phillip Portsmouth.

  Phillip jumped from his seat and beamed with excitement. Julia rose to congratulate Steven’s friend, as Robert Long stomped down the steps. He halted in front of Carson Allbright. “What happened?” Robert growled in a barely audible tone. “I thought we had a deal.”

  Julia inched closer to hear their conversation.

  “Deal?” Carson leaned forward, frowning. “I spent thousands on your fakes, and you promised me a little package to compliment my purchases. I haven’t seen one diamond, so I’m not about to fork out more greenbacks on these forgeries.”

  Robert hissed, “Not so loud! I’m still trying to find that painting. It’s not my fault Miller got killed, and now his girlfriend left the ship.”

  “A deal is a deal,” Carson spat. “I’ll hang those paintings around your neck if you don’t come through with my…” he stopped talking and glared at Julia. “Meet me at the piano bar at six. We’ll talk about this in private.” Carson slammed his empty glass onto the table and walked out with his wife.

  Robert’s gaunt face looked pale as he wiped sweat from his forehead. He headed to the exit as Julia’s gaze followed his retreat.

  “Could you hear what they said?” Patricia asked her friend.

  “They were talking about diamonds. I think we’d better find the kids and explain everything in private.” Julia hooked her hand around Patricia’s elbow. “I hate to disturb Steven and Kayla, but this sounds important.”

  A few minutes later, Julia and Patricia stood outside the bridal suite discussing their options. “Maybe we should push a note under the door,” Patricia offered. “That way we won’t disturb them.”

  “I don’t know. They might not see a note very soon,” Julia responded. “It’s late in the afternoon, so maybe they won’t mind visitors.”

  “Perhaps you should just come in and have afternoon tea with us,” Steven said, standing in the doorway. He grinned and gestured them inside.

  Both women looked embarrassed but quickly entered the suite. Kayla sat, fully dressed at the table, eating sandwiches and chips. Steven picked up his half-eaten sandwich and said, “There was a pot of tea and bucket of iced beverages on the serving trolley, along with an assortment of pastries.”

  “We’ve got more than enough,” Kayla said with twinkling eyes. “It seems that everyone who interrupts us brings food to help calm our temper. Emily was our last interruption, and she’s got a healthy appetite.”

  Julia and Patricia sat down and helped themselves to sandwiches and drinks. Julia said, “We came straight from the auction and needed to tell you what we heard.” She proceeded to quote the entire conversation between Carson Allbright and Robert Long. “What’s this about diamonds?” she asked, staring into Kayla’s eyes, a mother who demanded a prompt reply.

  Kayla nearly choked on her sandwich. “Mom, we can’t tell you everything about the investigation.”

  “I suggest you explain this, since we’re bringing you valuable information,” Julia insisted.

  Steven laughed. “I see where Kayla gets her persistence. We’d better tell them, Luv. I’m sure they won’t spread the information about.”

  Sighing, Kayla told both mothers about the diamonds and finding the original painting in the coffin.

  Patricia nibbled on sandwiches and sipped tea while listening with rapt attention. “So what happens to that painting full of diamonds?” she asked.

  “We keep a watch on the baggage storage room, but you stay out of it, Mum. Don’t you two eavesdrop on more conversations and place yourselves into harm’s way.”

  Patricia grinned. “You sound more like Jonathan every day. We didn’t go out of our way to listen to that conversation. Those men just forgot where they were, and we reaped the benefit. Now that they’ve seen our faces, we couldn’t repeat the experience even if we tried. It might be better to get Clint or Jonathan to…”

  “Absolutely not!” Steven huffed. “No one in my family will do any more snooping. We’ve got plenty of eyes and ears about the ship and don’t need more help.”

  “Of course not, son. We’re getting off the ship tomorrow at any rate, and I guess we couldn’t help much more.” Patricia nibbled her sandwich, trying to look meek.

  Steven rolled his eyes. “Look here, don’t try that innocent expression on me. I’ve seen it before and don’t trust you one iota. What’s this about getting off the ship?”

  Julia said, “We talked Jonathan and Patricia into joining our Bear Safari on Kodiak. The outfitters have cabins, and we can watch bears fishing for salmon from a bluff overlooking the river. We’ll leave the ship in Kodiak tomorrow and fly to Anchorage the next day.” She handed Kayla a brochure and pointed at the bottom. “Here’s our contact information, so we need you to pick us up at the airport.”

  “Is it safe to get so close to the bears?” Kayla asked, a tone of concern in her voice.

  “We’ve read the literature and watched videos. The bears don’t pay attention to spectators taking photos, and we’ll stay away from the river. Guides keep guns handy and claim no one gets hurt.”

  Kayla read the brochure and glanced at Steven, who didn’t appear concerned. “Well, make sure Dad stays well away from the bears. You know how he gets when he’s taking video. Remember that elk in Yellowstone?”

  Julia told the story, “Clint stood in a town park filming a bull elk, who was rounding up his harem. Clint felt safe on top of a picnic table and zoomed in to get dramatic footage. He slowly retracted the lens as the elk walked toward him until the lens stopped moving. At that point he realized the elk was coming too close, jumped off the table, and scrambled into the back of our pickup truck. The antlers of that elk were enormous. The elk sauntered around the truck, and flashed a dirty look at the crazy human pointing a camera at him. Clint never moved so fast in his life, but he caught the whole
thing on video.”

  “He’d move fast if a Kodiak bear suddenly took interest,” Kayla said.

  Julia nodded and finished her sandwich. “I’ll keep him in line. He heeds my warnings when I use my stern tone of voice.”

  Kayla remembered that stern tone of voice. “Okay. I trust you to bring him back in one piece so have a good time.”

  When their mothers left the cabin, Steven smiled at Kayla. “Now we have a good lead and two men to watch.”

  Kayla nodded. “I guess we’d better inform Jason and Natalia. You suppose they could finish off the rest of this food?” She patted her stomach. “If we get any more visitors, I’ll gain weight.”

  “No worries, Luv. We’ll work it off.” He nibbled her ear until she pushed him away.

  “Go get Jason. We’ve got to decide how to handle the surveillance, before we get too distracted.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.”

  *****

  Jason vibrated with excitement when he heard about Robert Long and Carson Allbright. “Now we can really set a trap for the killer.”

  Kayla asked, “How can we do that?”

  Waving the green notebook, he said, “We put this in a hiding place and spread word we’re looking for it. Since we already know where the painting is hidden, we can watch for them to come get it.”

  “Explain more before you get too excited,” Steven said.

  They discussed the idea and then Steven said, “If we ask Millie to help search for important evidence in the painting vault, she’s bound to pass the information to Robert Long.”

  Jason said, “I’ll plant the notebook in Cynthia’s cabin while you get Millie.” He headed out the door with Natalia.

  Steven finished his tea before leaving with Kayla. They found Millie and Robert Long at the office assigned to Genuine Fakes.

  “We had a tip that Miller kept a green notebook with details of the heist,” Steven said, watching for a reaction to their news. “It’s not in his room. We wondered if he might have hidden it inside the art vault and hope you’ll help us search.”

  Millie nodded. “Jeffrey spent a lot of time in the vault, but I thought he was learning the inventory. Robert, you’re tall and know the proper order of artwork. Come along, let’s help these people.”

  They opened the vault and carefully removed paintings to search every possible nook for the notebook. Giving up the hunt an hour later, Steven leaned against the wall as Robert and Millie replaced the last pieces into the vault.

  Robert said, “You think the killer absconded with the notebook?”

  “Why would the killer bother if he got away with the painting?” Kayla asked.

  “Perhaps Miller hid the genuine painting before he was killed. Do you think there are clues inside the notebook?” Robert asked.

  “It’s possible.” Steven rubbed his chin. “Perhaps he gave the notebook to someone he trusted. Can you think of anyone he knew well?” Both Millie and Robert shrugged, but Steven watched Robert’s eyes shift warily. “Well, if you think of anyone, please let us know.”

  Steven and Kayla joined Jason and Natalia in the piano bar. “He took the bait. How long before he decides to bribe a steward for a room key and start searching?”

  “I give him half an hour. We already left instructions with Cynthia’s room steward to cooperate if he comes along.” Jason grinned. “We taped the notebook to the bottom of a dresser drawer, so it should be dead easy to find.”

  *****

  A network of spies reported to Jason and Steven as Robert made his way through the ship. “Target just entered the cabin,” the room steward said into a walkie-talkie.

  “Remain on alert, over and out,” said Steven. Twenty minutes later the steward confirmed that Robert left the room carrying a green notebook.

  Jason smiled at his partner and leaned back in his deck chair. “How long before he figures out the hiding place?”

  Steven glanced at his watch. “We should have enough time to finish our drinks since the girls are watching from that linen cupboard.”

  “I’m still not keen on getting them involved. He could be dangerous,” Jason complained.

  “Kayla wouldn’t listen to my opinion on the matter,” Steven said. “Look, the golfers are practicing, but I don’t see Carson. You think he’ll walk into our trap with Long?”

  Jason frowned. “Let’s get down there. I can’t abide speculating when my girl is on stakeout.”

  The two investigators headed inside and stood waiting for the service elevator. The door opened and a room steward stood next to a cart filled with damp towels. He shifted to make room for the two men and watched the elevator lights as they descended.

  Dashing down the service corridor, the two men dodged carts and workmen, eager to reach the baggage storage area. Kayla and Natalia waited patiently in a nearby linen closet until Robert entered the storage room. Quietly the girls counted to twenty, and then jumped into the open door with their camera aimed. Robert knelt next to the coffin with a screw driver in hand.

  Flash, flash, flash.

  The camera clicked rapidly. Robert dropped the screw driver, held up a large hand against the flashing lights, and tried to push past the two women. He crashed into strong male bodies.

  “Caught you in the act!” Steven growled and slipped handcuffs on the artist. “Come along. We have a few questions for you, mate.”

  Kayla and Natalia examined the photos in the camera display as they followed. “He looks surprised and guilty,” Kayla said.

  Natalia pushed a long strand of black hair behind her ear. “Why didn’t he open the drawer?”

  Jason peered down the corridor. “I expected him to bring Carson along, but I guess a businessman keeps his hands clean.”

  Curious crewmen watched the group march Robert toward the service elevator. Steven waved at men he recognized. “We got him, thanks for helping.”

  Emily waited anxiously in her suite. When the team entered with their criminal in tow, she sighed with relief. “You should’ve radioed to tell me it worked.”

  Steven shook his head. “We wanted to see your happy face when we brought him in.” He patted Robert down and unlocked the cuffs. “Have a seat.”

  Robert sank into the soft cushions of the sofa, rubbing his wrists. “I didn’t do anything illegal. I was trying to help you find the stolen painting.”

  Emily stepped away from the painting that leaned against the wall of her suite. She gestured and said, “The drawer was empty, because we didn’t want it coming to harm.”

  “Harm? I wouldn’t damage a valuable painting. You must believe me, I was trying to retrieve the stolen canvas.”

  Steven pulled the green notebook out of Robert’s pocket. “Why didn’t you bring this to us? That would have been the proper course of action.”

  Robert shifted under the intense scrutiny and shrugged his thin shoulders. “I wanted to be a hero, you know, retrieve the painting myself.”

  Kayla asked, “Why didn’t you open the drawer with the key?”

  “I didn’t have a key to the drawer. I tried using a screw driver, but the blasted drawer wouldn’t open.” Robert frowned.

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Jason growled, “so tell us about your deal to sell the diamonds.”

  Robert jerked and sweat beaded on his forehead. “I want my lawyer. You can’t force me to say anything incriminating.”

  “We detained you under maritime law. You were seen breaking into a passenger’s cabin and we found you trying to steal a valuable painting,” Emily said. “We’ll deliver you to the proper authorities in Anchorage, where you can call for an attorney. If you cooperate now, it might go better for you.”

  Robert pursed his thin lips. “When a diamond merchant in Europe contacted me about getting that painting, I was genuinely surprised. Everyone in the art world assumed the gems under the paint were inexpensive crystals like the artist used in his other work. I never got the chance to take a close look before it was stolen.”
>
  Steven asked, “What’s the name of the diamond merchant?”

  “I can’t reveal his identity, or I’d be dead soon. He told me to contact Carson Allbright and make a deal to sell the diamonds. Allbright agreed to buy fake paintings to drive up the prices for higher commissions if I helped secure the diamonds. I was surprised he didn’t buy the glacier painting. When Miller got killed, I decided to scrap the whole deal.”

  “But you got interested again after we told you about Miller’s notebook.” Steven asked, “How were you supposed to get the diamonds to Allbright?”

  “When we packed the shipping crates, I planned to replace a painting he bought legitimately with the glacier painting. I didn’t know Miller already switched paintings.” Robert leaned forward and rested his forehead in his hands. “No one would have known the painting was stolen until we were safely away, but I never expected someone to kill Miller, honest.”

  Jason scoffed, “You killed Miller when you discovered the switch! He’d already hidden the real painting, so you were furious and let him have it with a handy golf driver.”

  “No! I knew nothing about Miller’s switch. I wasn’t supposed to pack those crates until we reached Kodiak, since the boxes were due to ship out of Anchorage. Our team planned to fly out together, and Allbright’s group is scheduled to play golf in Denali. He didn’t want any direct contact with the painting. Genuine Fakes could claim it was a shipping error, and the box would go missing in transit.”

  Natalia stepped forward and touched Robert’s shoulder with her warm hand. “We know you didn’t mean for Miller to get hurt.”

  He peered into her soft eyes with a pleading expression. “You’ve got to believe me. I never knew that original went missing until I heard about it from you. I’d never hurt anyone.”

  “What about Carson? Do you think he met Jeffrey Miller the night the painting was stolen and killed him?” Jason pressed.